Creative Writing Program

University of Houston Creative Writing Program

2016 Newsletter

Inside Program News...... 4

Faculty News ...... 5

Student News ...... 7

Readings, Publications and Community ...... 11

Alumni News ...... 17

Steven G. Craig Interim Dean, CLASS

Wyman Herendeen English Dept. Chair

J. Kastely CWP Director

Alex Parsons Interim CWP Director

Giuseppe Taurino Assistant Director From the Director

ourteen years ago, I agreed to be the interim director of Creative FWriting for one year. I have stayed in the position longer than I in- tended, and this, despite the fact that I have no interest in administration. What does interest me is the community of writers—both faculty and students—with whom I have had the privilege to work. This is a community that I admire deeply. In contemporary America, it is not easy to pursue with integrity the life of a writer or to take seriously the study of literature. It has been rewarding to work with people who value that life and who pursue that study. I feel that they are people on whose behalf it is important to work. At times, my job has been to be a firewall and to protect the practices of writing and scholarly inquiry. Too often, they are endangered, not by direct opposition, but simply by the factitious cares that occupy so much of lives lived neces- sarily within bureaucracies. It may seem perverse but one of the gifts of a graduate education is to acquaint writers with the obstacles presented by a bureaucracy to the writing life. And an equally perverse gift of graduate education is providing the space for the writing life to fall apart and (hopefully) be reconstituted. One of my genuine pleasures has been to watch this process happen and to see how it promotes the development of original work. I have enjoyed working with all of you, and I am delighted that Alex Parsons will take over as Director—I cannot imagine a more capable, innovative, and generous writer to lead the Program. I look forward to watching the Program develop under his leadership. He will have a wonderful faculty and collection of students with whom to work, and he will be an excellent steward of the writing life. May you all continue to thrive as the fine writers that you are. As ever, j.

1 From the Interim Director…

Kastely spent 14 years resolutely championing our program. He has been J. a leader cut from the same flowing cloth as, say, the Dalai Lama or Pope Francis, though he has a saltier vocabulary. I know of no greater praise than to say that j. is the rare man who could pull off wearing a toga and laurel wreath without it seeming an affectation. That he is a scholar of Plato, and The Repub- lic (ok, also The Prince), seems no accident. Now, however, j. dons the garb of the new English Department Chair. And it falls to someone to step in as Interim Director of the Creative Writing Program. Hence this note.

I arrived at UH in 2007 and have felt profoundly fortunate to live and work among so many talented and collegial writers. (Except in the summer, when it’s hard to think beyond incipient heatstroke and appreciate anything but ice.) The signal achievement of the Program is not the many publications and awards garnered by the faculty and graduates. Nor is it the careers launched here. It is, rather, the very nature of this thriving collective of dedicated artists. Art is a collaborative endeavor, no matter the solitary hours in silent rooms. As we write we experience the gradual growth of a project, pruning and grafting and creating something fine.A similar iterative process applies when we construct communities. Our program has grown into a premier place to write and think in the company of other fine minds and generous souls by virtue of the effort and legacy of all who have passed through. This history is evident everywhere: in the curricula we offer; in the advice and counsel received and passed on in the classroom and outside of it; in the histories that inspire our donors’ support; in the stories and poems we write. If literature is a great conversation, we have built a fine salon for it. Our guest list is distinguished, and the tenor of our discussions is lively, inquisitive, and constructive.

In the coming year our concern is the brass tacks for the salon’s armchairs, ottomans, chaise longues, couches. We will focus on interrelated aspects of teaching and funding. First, we will increase our undergraduate enrollments. With more students in our introductory classes we can offer more sections for our MFA and Ph.D candidates to lead. Most of them, surprisingly, enjoy teaching to their passions, and are interested to develop those courses they’ll lead as professors. We will first launch a large, sopho- more-level, interdisciplinary course that explores poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. It will showcase various faculty who will visit to lecture, and allow students to work closely with our GAs. We hope to expand this model as more students crowd our subsequent courses. UH is heavily invested in the undergraduate experience and timely graduation rates. As we connect to this we will lobby for more GAships, faculty lines, and expanded funding. Second, we will refine the virtual CWP. That is, redesign the website and widely advertise the Program’s strengths: publications, job placements, awards, student-to-faculty ratio, competitive funding, etc. Third, we will push to create GAships that are unrelated to teaching and fund- ed from multiple sources, not just the CWP. This should broaden our institutional and local support, pull in students who aspire to write but not teach, and contribute via the work performed—grant-writing, for example, or web design and maintenance.

I welcome your comments and suggestions and look forward to fostering the program as it has me and so many of my fellow writers.

Yours in mourning for j., Alex Parsons 2 In Memory Claire Kageyama-Ramakrishnan (Ph.D., 2004) 1969 – 2016

“My Seedling, My Yonsei”

For you, I will keep the ripe weight, plums, apricots, budding persimmons. The limes and climbing wisteria vines. Strawberries. Eggplants edging the house. Their slender, cylindrical bruises among cream, papery blossoms. For you, the powdery outline of monarchs, spread petals, seeds of lilies, orchids, gladiolas, bougainvillea, Birds of Paradise. For you, salamanders under the rocks, the hatch, slide, spin, glint of fish under a bridge. The lizards shedding their skin. Child, when seasons unwind and take turns, and sun filters a first glimpse of you- I will give you my life, each word, each breath, each cell, each wish. For you.

-From Claire’s collection Shadow Mountains

3 Program News

Ecopoetics

copoetics on the Gulf (also known as The Shrimp Boat Projects) ran a third time this past spring, Eand the poetry workshop included collaborative work with senior Graphic Design students taught by Cheryl Beckett. The usual trips trawling, kayaking, birding, and marsh clearing were combined with multimedia exhibitions. First, the poets and designers created broadsides, which were sold as a fundraiser for Houston Audubon Society. Each group, led by a poet and assigned one of the four elements as a theme, created beautiful, hand-pressed broadsides. These works will soon be on display in the creative writing office. The groups also produced cinepoems (videos), which were shown in two venues: a special Poetry and Prose Series event and at the Art School. Brazos Bookstore hosted a final reading by the poets from the broadsides now bound into a limited edition book. Next time around, the class will work on a marsh installation with graduate Architecture students while again writing, critiquing poems, and studying American shore odes.

4 Faculty News

Robert Boswell published stories in Mississippi Review and the Ploughshares Solo Series. He also published an essay in The North American Review, and has a story forthcoming in The Atlantic.

Audrey Colombe’s article, “An Undergradaute Novel Writing Courses” was published this past February in the AWP Writer’s Chronicle “Online Exclusives.”

Chitra Divakaruni received the Premio Scanno award (also known as the Italian Nobel) in fall 2015 for her novel Oleander Girl. Her novel-in-stories, Before We Visit the Goddess, published in April 2016, received glowing national and international reviews and became an international bestseller. She also received the Rhetorician of the Year award from the Young Rhetoricians Organization, and a play based on her book Arranged Marriage premiered in Toronto in summer 2016. Also, her youngest son graduated from college this past spring, so she is a happy mom!

This past year, Nick Flynn published his ninth book, My Feelings (Graywolf Press), a collection of poems. He also judged the 2016 APR/Honickman First Book Prize, and had work featured in the an- thologies If Bees Are Few (University of Minnesota Press) and Why We Write About Ourselves (Plume), among others. The Fort Worth Opera performed the opera Alice Invents a Little Game and Alice Always Wins, based on his play by the same name. In 2017, Nick will be performing at the Proud Archivist in London in collaboration with musician Sarah Lipstate (aka Noveller).

Tony Hoagland’s most recent book of poems, Appli- cation for Release from the Dream, was published by Graywolf in September 2015. A collection of translations from Celtic languages on which Tony collaborat- ed with Martin Shaw, a UK storyteller and folklorist, called Rough Gods is scheduled to be published in 2018.

5 Mat Johnson has teamed up with British show- as a trauma chaplain and to offer poetry and runner Sam Bain (Peep Show, Four Lions) to spiritual care workshops to chaplains and staff. develop a half-hour dramedy series based on his Baylor College of Medicine also hosted her as a novel Loving Day, for the Showtime Network, in narrative medicine panelist. With Woods Nash, conjunction with Random House Studio. Johnson she co-led an Inprint workshop in prose and po- will also be joining NPR’s Fresh Air as a regular etry for medical professionals and caregivers. contributor. Roberto Tejada delivered the 31st annual Antonya Nelson’s story “Jack London” was George Oppen Memorial Lecture at the invita- published in Tin House, and an essay appeared tion of The Poetry Center, San Francisco State in the anthology The House That Made Me. She University (December 2015). His talk, entitled also taught at Key West Literary “Assault on the Quiet Con- Festival, Tin House, Taos Writers’ tinent: Oppen in Mexico,”

Otros títulos en Libros Magenta «Todo en el ahora es el título de la primera antología de poemas en Roberto Tejada (Los Ángeles, California, 1964) vivió Conference,español de Roberto Tejada (Los Ángeles, AspenCalifornia, 1964). El tiempo Writers’ Confer- focused on U.S. American durante una década en México, trabajando pri- transcurrido desde que el autor vivió en la ciudad de México, entre Sil, mero en la redacción de la revista Vuelta y luego 1987 y 1997, trabajando primero en la redacción de la revista Vuelta y Ana Rosa González Matute (poesía) como editor ejecutivo de Artes de México. Hasta después en Artes de México, y editando las páginas de su propia revis- ence, and Bear River. ahora, Tejada ha publicado tres colecciones de poets George and Mary Op- ta, la publicación bilingüe dedicada a la difusión de la poesía escrita Astro Labio, Tejada Roberto poemas: Mirrors for Gold (2006), Exposition Park en los diferentes idiomas del continente americano, Mandorla: New Alfonso D’Aquino (poesía) (2010) y Full Foreground (2012). Writing from the Americas; el tiempo transcurrido desde entonces, La obra poética de Roberto Tejada se ha nu- pen in Mexico City, 1950-58, diecisiete años, se antoja demasiado para saldar una deuda pendien- Canto de mí mismo, trido de su trabajo como traductor de poesía lati- te entre la poesía de idioma español y la labor que a lo largo de todo Walt Whitman (poesía) noamericana en español y portugués y como edi- ese tiempo Roberto Tejada ha realizado a favor de su difusión y su Kevin Prufer’s new edited volume, tor de Mandorla: Nueva escritura de las Américas/ during the U.S. McCarthy escritura misma. New Writing from the Américas (1991-2013), una Galaxias, «La zona de incertidumbre donde se produce la poesía de Roberto revista multilingüe de poesía, poética y traduc- Haroldo de Campos (poesía) Tejada es en realidad un cruce de caminos; una orilla, mejor dicho, Literary Publishing in the 21st ción fundada en la ciudad de México con el pro- Era, addressing George Op- desde donde se contempla la otra; una nostalgia permanente de un pósito de llevar múltiples sitios de actividad cul- , estado del ser que no es el actual y que se traduce a diferentes modos El cuerpo de Giulia-no tural a la forma impresa. Como traductor de José Jorge Eduardo Eielson (novela) de decir las cosas. Tejada es un poeta que, escribiendo en inglés, pien- Century, was recently published by Lezama Lima, la concepción de la poesía de Teja- pen’s silence in poetry during sa en español y tiene todo el tiempo presente esa otra orilla, hacia Todo en el ahora da reconoce el grado en el que la poesía es capaz donde se dirige su poesía. En ese entrecruzamiento de culturas que La inteligencia de sintetizar fuerzas antagónicas en un territorio no se excluyen, sino que conviven y se complementan, parece haber de Louis Agassiz, Roberto Tejada fértil y sin límite; una ingeniería que hace posi- Milkweedencontrado su particular versión Editions. de la expresión americana, como The book was the years from 1934 (after the Guy Davenport (ensayo) ble el intercambio social y que devuelve el mundo

querían José Lezama Lima y William Carlos Williams, dos poetas in- en el ahora Todo construido, una y otra vez, a la vida cotidiana. sulares, cada uno a su modo, que entendieron las Américas como un Mi Emily Dickinson, Así, estableciendo un vínculo heterodoxo en- co-editedcontinente variado y plural, conformadowith por lenguas Travis y culturas que Kurowski and publication of his first book, Susan Howe (ensayo) tre el barroco latinoamericano y la tradición mo- constituyen una sola raíz o un solo campo de interferencias dialógi- dernista de la literatura norteamericana, la poe- cas.» Deﬁ nición hermética, sía de Roberto Tejada se sitúa en el ahora, no para [gbg, del Prólogo.] UH MFA alum Wayne Miller. Kev- apostrofarlo en los términos de una descripción Discrete Series) to 1958 (near H. D. (poesía) irreverente, sino para interpretarlo y reinventarlo ofreciendo una impronta personal de este acci- El Nuevo Mundo, in’s next book of poems, How He dentado transcurso. the end of his Mexi- William Bronk (ensayo) Loved Them, has also been accepted can sojourn). In Jan- for publication by Four Way Books uary 2016, with the and his edited volume (with Martha publication in Spanish Collins) on literary translation is forth- of his selected poems, coming from Graywolf Press. Recent Todo en el ahora poems appeared in The Paris Review, (Libros Magenta; Kenyon Review, and 2016 Pushcart Dirección General de Prize Anthology. Publicaciones, 2015), Roberto was inter- This past spring, Martha Serpas was viewed in the Mexico artist-in-residence at the Loyola Insti- City paper El Uni- tute, Trinity College. Her commissioned versal in conjunction poem, speaking to the relevance of Catholic with an official book launch held at the Centro theology in the Irish academy, will be installed Cultural Elena Garro, featuring remarks by artist in a permanent banner display. While In Ireland, Magali Lara, and authors José María Espinasa, she read at the Mountains to Sea Book Festival Luis Felipe Fabré, and Gabriel Bernal Granados. in Dun Laoghaire. (Bono of U2 attended Paul In April, introduced by Ann Lauterbach, he read Muldoon’s reading but not hers.) She also was from his work in the John Ashbery Reading Se- Writer-in-Residence at McNeese University in ries at Bard College. Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Dirty Coast, a Modern Language Association panel on Katrina and other Louisiana environmental challenges, featured a reading by her from The Diener and The Dirty Side of the Storm. Between semesters, she returned to Tampa General Hospital to serve

6 Student News

Corey Campbell’s (Ph.D., Fiction) short story collection See The Milky Way was selected as one of fifteen JP Gritton (Ph.D., Fiction) was semi-finalists for this a finalist for the DisQuiet fiction year’s Iowa Short Fic- prize. He has stories forthcom- tion Award. Her short ing in Southwest Review and story “Ocean-Friend- Greensboro Review. ly Cuisine” was selected for This year, Rachel Fairbank reprint in the forthcoming New (MFA, Nonfiction) had work Stories from the Southwest published in the Houston anthology (University of New Chronicle and Rice Magazine, Mexico Press). Corey also pub- Vice, and The Billfold. She also lished an interview with fiction attended the annual National writer and essayist Charles Association of Science Writers D’Ambrosio in the journal Wax- meeting in Cambridge, MA. wing in October 2015. During this meeting, she performed onstage at the Oberon Theater, telling a science Sam Dinger (MFA, Fiction) story that was later used for an had a story win honorable men- episode of the Story-Collider- Carolann Caviglia Madden’s tion in the August 2015 Glim- podcast. This summer she will (Ph.D., Poetry) co-translations mer be attending the NYS Summer with poet Ming Di appeared in Train Writer’s Institute in Saratoga World Literature Today, and her Short Springs, where she’ll be study- poetry appeared, or is forthcom- Story ing with Philip Lopate. ing, in Witch Craft Magazine, Award Nimrod International Journal, for and The Southwest Anthology: New The Best from the Writing Pro- Writers. grams (Texas Review Press). She was a finalist inNimrod International’s 2016 Pablo Ner- uda Prize for Poetry.

7 Martin Own Story: Essays is slated for Rock’s publication in 2019. This past (Ph.D., year, Matthew gave the Con- Poetry) vocation Keynote at Wheelock book, Re- College, and siduum, was featured won the on NPR. He Editor’s also took Choice over editing Award for the Pleiades Cleveland blog and has State University Poetry Cen- been posting ter’s 2015 First Book Prize, about Cre- and was published in April ative Writing Christopher Brean Murray of 2016. His poem “Vapor” pedagogy. (Ph.D., Poetry) had poems ac- appeared on Academy of cepted at Pleiades, North Amer- American Poets “Poem-a-Day” ican Review, The Journal, New in June. Madrid, Bateau, and New Ohio Review. His manuscript The Specific Ocean The opening was a finalist atThe Song section of Cave’s book competition. Henk Ros- souw’s (Ph.D., Poetry) book- length poem Camissa will be publsihed this year in The Nathan Stabenfeldt (MFA, Common, the Poetry) published two poems in literary journal Issue #11 of Jet Fuel Review at Amherst College that focuses (http://www.jetfuelreview.com/ on “a modern sense of place”. nathan-stabenfeldt-spring-2016. He attended the 2016 Home- html). Adrienne Perry’s (Ph.D., school conference in Hudson, Fiction) work appeared or is NY on scholarship. For the final forthcoming in Indiana Review, year of his Ph.D. at UH, Henk Martha Stallman’s (Ph.D., Fic- Black Warrior Review, Copper will be a CLASS dissertation tion) essay, “Exacerbation 17,” Nickel, The Journal of Creative completion fellow. appeared Writing Studies. This summer in Electric she has a residency on Whidbey Literature. Island through the Hedgebrook. Matthew Salesses’s (Ph.D., She has Fiction) first novel,The Hun- work forth- dred-Year Flood, was published coming in by Little A/Amazon Publishing The Estab- (2015). His book, The Murder lishment. of the Doppelgänger, is forthcoming in 2018, and another,

8 New Students 2016-17 Fiction Poetry

Sarah-Jane Abate, MFA Chelsea Brennan DesAutels, MFA BA, Susquehanna University BA, Wellesley College JD, University of Minnesota Law School Rachel Ballenger, MFA BA, University of California - Berkeley Michelle Orsi, MFA BA, Gonzaga University Jennifer Johnson, MFA BA, Southern Methodist University Timothy Saylor, MFA MA, University of Texas BA, Messiah College

Saira Nadeem, MFA Michelle Burk, Ph.D. BA, University of Houston BA, Roosevelt University MFA, Columbia University Charlotte Wyatt, MFA BA, Fordham University Joshua Gottlieb-Miller, Ph.D. BA, St. Mary’s College Barbara Drumheller, Ph.D. MFA, University of Houston BA, University of Texas JD, Texas Tech Univ School of Law Nicole Herd, Ph.D. MA, Vermont College of Fine Arts BA, University of Arizona MFA, Antioch University Matthew Krajniak, Ph.D. BA, University of Eastern Michigan Caitlin Weiss, Ph.D. MFA, University of Memphis BA, Kenyon College MFA, Ohio State University Alexander McElroy, Ph.D. BA, Oregon State University MFA, Arizona State University

Joanna Novak, Ph.D. BA, Knox College MA, Washington University MFA, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Novuyo Tshuma, Ph.D. BS, University of Witwatersrand MFA, University of Iowa

9 Graduates Writing Prizes 2015-16 2015-16 Inprint and the University of Houston’s Fall 2015 Creative Writing Program Michelle Mariano, Ph.D., are pleased to announce the writing prize winners for Fiction 2015 – 2016

Zachary Martin, Ph.D., Fiction INPRINT ALEXANDER PRIZE IN FICTION Stephen Sanders, Ph.D., Fiction Selena Anderson

INPRINT VERLAINE PRIZE IN POETRY Spring 2016 Meghan Martin INPRINT MARION BARTHELME PRIZE IN Eleanor Boudreau, MFA, CREATIVE WRITING Poetry Matthew Salesses

Catherine Cosgrove, Ph.D., INPRINT DONALD BARTHELME PRIZE IN NONFICTION Poetry Dana Kroos

Carlos Hernandez, MFA, Non- INPRINT DONALD BARTHELME PRIZE IN FICTION fiction Michele Nereim and Carlos Hernandez

Jennifer McFarland, MFA, INPRINT DONALD BARTHELME PRIZE IN POETRY Fiction Martin Rock and Luisa Muradyan

David Messmer, MFA, Fiction INPRINT DONALD BARTHELME GULF COAST Editor’s PRIZE Dino Piacentini, MFA, Fiction Carlos Hernandez

Allie Rowbottom, Ph.D., BRAZOS BOOKSTORE /ACADEMY OF AMERICAN PO- Nonfiction ETS PRIZE Daniel Chi Danny Wallace, Ph.D., Fiction CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL! Ashley Wurzbacher, Ph.D., Fiction JUDGES MARION BARTHELME PRIZE POETRY Darin Ciccotelli (UH Alum) Nicky Beer (UH Alum)

FICTION NONFICTION Jennine Capó Crucet Kate Schmitt (UH Alum)

10 Poison Pen Reading Series

he Poison Pen reading series continued to Tshine in its 10th year. (You may deliver the traditional anniversary gift of tin or aluminum directly to Poison Girl Cocktail Bar.) Always on the last Thursday of the month, Poison Pen features nationally renowned writers and local talent, as well as members of the University of Houston community. This past year, the series featured UH alums Elizabeth Lyons, Brooke Lightfoot, and Conor Bracken, current UH students Jeni Mc- Farland, Brenden Oliva, Jonathan Meyer, Dino Enrique Piacentini, and Henk Rossouw, and UH professors Martha Serpas, Roberto Tejada, and Kevin Prufer. In addition, a smorgasbord of Gulf Coast editors read for the annual November joint reading. Poison Pen is organized by Greg Oaks (UH PhD, 2001), Jameelah Lang (UH PhD, 2016), UH PhD student Erika Jo Brown, Scott Repass (co-owner of Poison Pen), Casey Flem- ing (UH MFA, 2007), UH faculty member Mat Johnson, and David Maclean (UH Ph.D., 2009). One of the highlights was the Co-organizers¹ Reading in May, which was an opportunity to witness Mat defying electrocution in a summer monsoon and to wish Jameelah the best as she heads off to her professorship at Franklin Col- lege in Indiana

11 Inprint, Houston’s premier literary arts nonprofit organization, with the mission to inspire readers and Inprint News writers, continues to celebrate its strong and ongoing relationship with the UH Creative Writing Program students and faculty, and looks forward to another great season during 2016/2017.

The Inprint Margarett Root Brown novel Reputations Reading Series presented in association with the UH Creative January 23, 2017—Annie Proulx Pulitzer Prize Writing Program and Brazos Bookstore, and and National Book Award-winning author of The now entering its 36th season, will feature 10 Shipping News and the story Brokeback Mountain, award-winning authors. Readings take place on reading from her new novel Barkskins Mondays, 7:30 pm, in downtown Houston’s Alley Theatre and Cullen Theater, Wortham Center. The March 6, 2017—George Saunders National 2016/2017 season includes: Book Award finalist for Tenth of December, reading from his ninth book and first novelLincoln in September 19, 2016—Jonathan Safran Foer the Bardo: A Novel bestselling author of Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, reading April 3, 2017— Ada Límon National Book from his new novel Here I Am Award finalist for her third poetry collectionDead Bright Things, and Gregory Pardlo, Pulitzer Prize October 17, 2016—Lauren Groff finalist for both winner for his second poetry collection Digest the National Book Award and National Book Crit- ics Circle Award for Fates and Furies, and Ann May 8, 2017—Colm Tóibín award-winning Irish Patchett, PEN/Faulkner Award and Orange Prize fiction writer, playwright, and journalist, and au- winner for Bel Canto, reading from her new novel thor of the bestselling Brooklyn, reading from his Commonwealth new novel House of Names.

November 21, 2016—Rabih Alameddine finalist All of the authors will participate in on-stage for both the National Book Award and the National interviews, many of which are conducted by UH Book Critics Circle Award for An Unnecessary Creative Writing Program faculty members and Woman, reading from his new novel The Angel of alumni, followed by a book sale and signing. Some History, and Juan Gabriel Vásquez, leading Latin of the visiting authors will also give craft talks on American author of the international bestseller The the UH campus and visit with graduate Creative Sound of Things Falling, reading from his new Writing Program classes.

nce again, Inprint will proudly award fellowships, prizes, and provide other support to graduate Ostudents at the UH Creative Writing Program. Last year alone, Inprint awarded close to $200,000 to UH Creative Writing Program students, and since its inception in 1983, Inprint’s support has surpassed $3 million to more than 500 graduate students. Inprint will also continue to provide annual financial support to Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature & Fine Arts, run by the graduate students. Inprint connects these talented emerging writers to the local community by hiring them as in- structors for Inprint’s Writers Workshops, Teachers-As-Writers Workshops, Senior Memoir Workshops, Life Writing Workshops at Methodist Hospital, and more; Inprint Poetry Buskers, who spread the joy of poetry by writing free poems on demand at festivals and special events throughout the city; and live tweeters, bloggers, and more. This synergistic relationship between the UH Creative Writing Program students, alumni, and faculty helps makes Houston a thriving literary arts haven. For more information on Inprint visit www.inprinthouston.org or 713.521.2026. 12 Brazos Bookstore

razos Bookstore has been Houston’s premier Kevin Prufer, Martin Rock, Matthew Salesses, and Bliterary bookseller since 1974, a curated retail/ plenty more. (This coming year, put a book out community space featuring new fiction, poetry, and your name will probably be added to that list!) nonfiction, and art books, with a special emphasis Brazos and Gulf Coast have also revived an old on independent publishers and literature-in-trans- partnership, working together to present the Gulf lation. The store has deep ties to, and a longstand- Coast Reading Series in-store. ing tradition of And yes, often times, partnering with, there’s free wine at the University of these readings. Houston creative For 2016- writing com- 17, Brazos has a munity. Hell, in lot more planned: the back office, partnerships with there’s a framed Inprint and the UH photograph of CWP; events with Donald Bar- literary luminaries; thelme, Edward a new series fea- Hirsch, Cynthia turing book recom- Macdonald, mendations from among others, local celebrities; and palling around more. Come shop, while holding come say hi, come tennis rackets. hang out—and most Tennis rackets! importantly, keep More publishing books so than that, Brazos Bookstore is an event space, host- the shelves stay full! ing 200+ book signings each year. This past year, the store hosted many UHCWP faculty/alums/ Watch BrazosBookstore.com for more announce- students, including Erika Jo Brown, Chitra Diva- ment as the 2016-2017 schedule unfolds. karuni, Nick Flynn, Allen Gee, J. Bradford Hipps, Cliff Hudder, J. Kastely, Leah Lax, David Parsons,

13 Writers in the Schools

riters in the School (WITS) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that engages young people in the pleasure Wand power of reading and writing. Since 1983, WITS has worked hand-in-hand with educators and professional writers to teach students the craft of writing while encouraging critical thinking, creative self-expression, and personal responsibility. WITS programs take place in schools, museums, hospitals, community centers, parks, libraries, camps, and juvenile detention centers. WITS also provides professional development opportuni- ties for classroom teachers, giving them the tools to make writing an adventure in learning. WITS is the largest literary arts organization in Texas and ranked the number one arts education organization in Texas by the National Endowment for the Arts. This year, WITS was delighted to welcome new students and alumni from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program to our teaching roster. Writers including Corey Campbell, Daniel Chu, Joshua Foster, Joshua Gottlieb-Miller, Jona- than Meyer, Alexandra Naumann, Adrienne Perry, Sara Rolater, and Henk Rossouw have infused WITS classrooms with joy and inquiry through their innovative ap- proaches to teaching writing. We are grateful for their belief in WITS and their efforts to create rigorous, reflective, celebratory learning experiences for their students.

WITS has been hard at work this year helping to cultivate and advocate for Houston’s literary landscape: • In partnership with the Houston Public Library and the City of Houston, WITS established the Houston Youth Poet Laureate program to identify young writers committed to civic and community engagement, poetry and performance, and education across Houston. Andrew White, a senior from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, was named Houston’s first Youth Poet Laureate. • In celebration of National Poetry Month, WITS partnered with local artists and organizations to create colorful and interactive Poet-Trees. These installations captured the hearts of visitors at Discovery Green, Buffalo Bayou, East End Esplanade on Navigation, and Houston Public Library on Heights Boulevard throughout the month of April. • Excerpts of creative work from WITS students, writers, and staff members were selected to be part of CORE Design Studio’s installation, “Figurative Poetics.” These quotes were featured on banners throughout downtown Houston, highlighting the powerful and diverse voices of our eclectic city. • Through support from the City of Houston and the Houston Arts Alliance, WITS joined University of Houston-Downtown’s GDRI (Graphic Design Research Initiative) program to transform our students’ poetry into visual works of art, displayed in the tunnel beneath Downtown City Hall. In addition to enhancing our local literary community, WITS has been devel- oping a strong national presence through its partnership with the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) and Brave New Voices. Many of our writers have gone on to establish their own WITS programs as well, and we are happy to support them as members of the WITS Alliance. WITS has been growing by leaps and bounds, serving over 36,000 students and teachers last year alone. As we continue to develop and expand our programs, we recognize that the work we do depends on the strength of our writers. WITS employs and trains approximately 200 writers and teachers every year, giving creative individuals the chance to connect with each other and with the Greater Houston community. WITS is committed to fueling Houston’s creative economy by giving professional writers the opportunity not only to earn a living, but also to make a difference in the lives of young people.

For more information about WITS, including how to apply for a teaching position, please visit us at witshouston. org or call 713-523-3877.

14 Gulf Coast A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts 015 – 2016 represented another banner year most recent volume of The Unsung Masters Se- 2for Gulf Coast, evidenced by our inclusion on ries, a book series dedicated to promoting the work the list of finalists for the 2015 Council of Literary of writers whose work was under acknowledged Magazines and Presses’ Firecracker award, along during their time. with Poetry Magazine, Tin House, and other top And in the digital realm too, Gulf Coast journals. Though we didn’t win (maybe next year!) has been spreading like wildfire, only instead of this shows that CLMP believes what we all already destroying everything in our path we’re sharing knew to be true: Gulf Coast is among the very best the light of profoundly good literature. To list all literary journals in the nation—and the only student the incredible work our team of GC Online editors run journal to be in the running! has published in the past year would take too much In addition to our recognition of curatorial space, so let’s suffice it to say thatGC Online is excellence and our value as a physical object d’ar- working its way toward becoming one of the best te, this year has seen Gulf Coast’s producers of exclusive online liter- involvement in the community reach ary content anywhere, and recently new heights. With the addition of received a lot of attention for a Erika Jo Brown as co-curator of series of essays curated by Mat- the Gulf Coast Reading Series, we thew Salesses titled “MFA vs. POC: hosted—for the first time in GC his- Rethinking the Creative Writing tory—a featured guest reader at each Workshop.” of our regularly scheduled student Last year we mentioned readings and held a number of spe- we’d established a Gulf Coast Prize cial events. Guest readers this season in Translation, which we’re happy included (in order) Kathleen Winter, to report has resulted not only in Wendy Walters, Janaka Stucky, S. the publication of excellent work Whitney Holmes, Kim Kyung Ju & in translation through the prize, but Translator Jake Levine, Robin Coste has also put GC on the map as a hot Lewis, Abe Smith, Wayne Miller, Matvei Yankele- spot for translators, and has resulted in an uptick in vich, and Rosa Alcalá. We also partnered with Bra- translation submissions to the journal as well. zos Bookstore to begin Gulf Coast “Pop-Ups,” in Sadly, this year marks the end of term for which current students have a chance to read with our three outgoing senior editors: Carlos Hernan- past contributors to Gulf Coast who are in Houston dez, Adrienne Perry, and Martin Rock. If you see promoting recent work. them, thank them. They’ve spent the better part of Our partnership with local organizations the past two years in service of a journal that helps did not end with Brazos, however—in the past year promote University of Houston as one of the best Gulf Coast editors developed events with the Asia writing programs in the nation. And that means it Society, The Contemporary Art Museum Hous- is also time to welcome the three incoming senior ton, Poison Pen, The Menil Collection, Counter editors: Luisa Muryadan (as Editor), Chris Liek (as Current, Librofest, The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Managing Editor), and Michele Nierem (as Digital Center, and The University of Houston Library and Editor). If you see these three in the halls, thank Special Collections to produce a splendiferous ar- them as well, as they’re about to enter the rabbit ray of community programming. We also partnered hole. And we’re sure they’ll do a phenomenal job! with Pleiades Press to produce and distribute the 15 Glass Mountain The Undergraduate Literary Journal at the University of Houston

he 2015-2016 academic year was an eventful square format. The newly-created Reviews and Tone, to say the least, for Glass Mountain. We Interviews section kept its momentum as the GM started the year with an entirely fresh group of staff had the opportunity to interview poet Rich- upper editors: Head Editor Aries Jones; Co-Man- ard Blanco during his visit to UH. His insight and aging Editors Travis Kane and Mai Tram Nguyen; advice made for a very engaging interview and Fiction Editor Cory Cook; Poetry Editor Beau fantastic addition to the Fall issue. McGlasson; Reviews Editor Georges Boulos; and In November, we hosted our annual Write- Art Editor Laura Hill. Fiction writer Matt Salesses A-Thon to raise money for the Boldface Confer- (see his new novel Hundred Year Flood) was our ence. We fell short of our goal (20k), but still man- hard working Graduate Advisor this past year, and aged to raise funds to contribute to the wonderful Audrey Colombe continued as our Faculty Advi- cause that is the Boldface Conference for Emerg- sor. The fall semester was filled with readings and ing Writers. We loved spending the day with UH events both on and off campus. The staff worked and Houston community writers running games hard to gather another set of international submis- and quizzes, providing writing prompts, and dis- sions, selecting the best poetry, prose, and art to tributing prizes. Writing and fundraising for eight go into Volume 15. Laura Hill, art editor, rede- hours may sound daunting, but it was an enjoyable signed the magazine’s layout and we love the new endeavor in good company. We’d like to thank

16 all those who contributed to Write-A-Thon and/or Angeles Convention Center. We spent an amazing spent any part of their day with us. And we look – and busy – few days in L.A. attending panels, forward to an even more successful Write-A-Thon talking with other magazines editors and pub- this year! Several Glass Mountain board members lishers, meeting writers from across the country, joined us and we also met with them separately to and, most importantly, representing our esteemed do some much needed long term planning. magazine at the book fair. We even got to visit Spring semester began, as it does, in Jan- briefly with Richard Blanco and present him a copy uary with our national Poetry and Prose awards, of issue #15, featuring his interview with Glass judged by CWP fac- Mountain staff. Next ulty. Glass Mountain year, AWP will be staff are always in celebrating their 50th flux. LeeAnne Carlson anniversary in Wash- stepped in this spring ington, D.C. and we’re to act as Fiction Edi- sure that whoever gets tor, Laura Hill moved the chance to attend on to other endeavors, will have another and upper editors Aries memorable trip. Jones and Mai Tram We hosted readings Nguyen worked with throughout spring, at our new Web Editor, UH and Brasil, fea- Tyler Sangster, on the turing talented writers layout of #16. We had from across the uni- more events and com- versity and the Hous- munity appearances ton community. We’d (Lone Star Book Fes- like to thank all those tival, AWP, and Me- writers who gener- nilFest, among others) ously gave us their and Glass Mountain’s time and shared their very first themed issue work at those events. (#16): “Growth.” Check We’d also like to thank out the cover art at our those brave individu- main page http://www. als who participated glassmountainmag. in the open mics that com/. The submissions followed every read- interpreted the theme ing. These sessions widely and resulted in a always reveal a wealth fascinating collection of of talent in our Glass interpretations. Exper- Mountain community. imenting this year has We also began a new inspired other content and form ideas the magazine “craft talk” series (as yet unnamed) this spring. might use in the future. This issue’s launch was Outgoing Gulf Coast Editor Adrienne Perry hosted featured at M.D. Anderson Library’s final Poetry the inaugural session, speaking on how to effec- and Prose reading in April. Contributors came from tively use setting in your writing. In our second UH and all over the Houston area to read their session Henk Rossouw, Poetry Editor for Gulf work from issue #16. Coast, explored the ethics of archiving and its At the end of March Glass Mountain was effect on poet-researchers. We had a packed house able to once again send its upper editors to the for both sessions, and we look forward to holding Associated Writers and Writing Programs Annual more craft talks in the coming year. Conference (AWP), this year hosted at the Los

17 programs, bookstores and other literary organiza- Boldface tions from the Houston community set up tables A Conference for Emerging Writers and shared their work. And we can’t forget the Boldface after party, Friday evening at Calhoun’s Rooftop—in the midst of a thunderstorm! Many attendees and staff braved the weather to celebrate all they had accomplished and learned in the fun- filled week of writing-nerd mania. We’d like to thank all those who attended Boldface this year— including a new group of students from Ithaca College. Every year, the talented writers The big event that concluded the year for who come to Glass Mountain was the 8th annual Bold- Boldface make face Conference. This year we welcomed it a joy to host featured writers Kimberley Meyer, Tiphanie the writing Yanique, and Lauren conference. Berry, three amazing (Check out this blog post by an attendee from women who we’re Ohio: http://alexevans.org/blog/2016/5/30/44- proud to say are grad- to-climb-the-glass-mountain-one-first-requires- uates of UH’s Creative a-good-reason.) We send our thanks to the staff, Writing Program. They the graduate students, community members gave marvelous craft and professors who took the time to help make talks and readings, as Boldface possible--especially the UH English well as offering private Department and the Creative Writing Program, manuscript consulta- Lillie Robertson and j Kastely. tions to our talented attendees. This year we con- Glass Mountain continues to develop new tinued our tradition of graduate students leading ways to include and showcase the wonderful writ- daily creative writing workshops, craft talks, and ers and artists we have the luck to encounter. We readings. Friday was all about professionalism in will be in excellent hands this coming year as Lee- the writing community, from editing tips to grad Anne Carlson steps in as Editor-in-Chief and the school ideas to advice on how to get your work poet Erika Jo Brown joins us as Graduate Advisor. published. Panelists included Houston publishers We appreciate all of the kind and writing groups, writer support we’ve received over guilds and writing programs, the years and with it we plan literary journals, and more. to make next year—like every Sincere thanks goes to those year—one of our best. individuals who came out to share their knowledge of the Head Editor, writing world! Aries Jones We also featured our first Boldface bookfair on Fri- Co-Managing Editor, Mai day. Literary journals, writing Tram Nguyen

18 Alumni News

Christopher Keane, showcasing its Among the Gorgons Bakken’s writer Tim was published by the (Ph.D., Rice-Oxley University of Tam- 1999) third on piano and pa in April 2016; book of harmonium, to several poems from poems, Glenna’s all-origi- the book appeared Eternity & nal “Pig in Lipstick on Poetry Daily Oranges, Blues,” featuring and one will be in- was pub- veteran Austin play- cluded in The Best lished in ers Johnny Nicholas American Poetry the Pitt (Asleep at the Wheel) 2016, ed. Edward Poetry on boogie-woogie Hirsch. Series piano/guitar and George in February. His Reiff (Joe Walsh) and Laurie Ann Cedilnik (MFA, poem, “Sentence,” was chosen Rick Richards (Ray Wylie 2010) graduated with a doc- for inclusion in the Best Amer- Hubbard) on bass and drums. torate in English Literature & ican Poetry 2016 anthology. Glenna’s music is available Creative Writing from Western Bakken is Frederick F. Seely for download and streaming Michigan University, and spent Professor of English at Alleghe- at iTunes, Spotify, etc. Glenna the spring teaching creative ny College, where he has taught performs in Houston on the third writing at Grand Valley State since 2000. Tuesday of every month from University. Beginning in Fall 9-11 p.m. at historic La Carafe 2016, she will be the Visiting in Market Square, Downtown. Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Loyola University in David Bernardy’s New Orleans. (MFA, 1999 / Ph.D., 2006) picture book, Dadblame Rabbits!, was awarded first place in the Society for Children’s Books Writers and Illustra- tors’ illustrated fiction Glenna Bell’s (Ph.D., 1998) category. An illustra- new album, Lone Star: Songs tion from a different and Stories Straight from the book he is working on, Hayan Charara’s Heart of Texas was released this Please Help Me Save My Piano! (Ph.D., 2010) third poetry book, past April. Lone Star offers an won first place in the SCBWI art Something Sinister (Carnegie authentic array of songs rang- contest. Mellon) was published in 2016, ing in mood and tempo from an as was a children’s book, The acoustic cover of the chart-top- Michelle Boisseau (Ph.D., Three Lucys (Lee & Low), win- ping ballad, “Everybody’s 1985) won the Tampa Review ner of the New Voices Award Changing” by the UK pop band Prize in 2015, and her fifth book Honor.

19 Patricia Clark’s (Ph.D., 1986) new in poetry, and is using her fellow- chapbook of poems, Wreath for the ship money to work on her third col- Red Admiral, will be published by lection, tentatively titled Cultivar. Spruce Alley Press in August 2016 She is currently an assistant professor of English at Dakota Wesleyan Liz Countryman’s (Ph.D., 2012) University in Mitchell, SD, and will poems have recently appeared in be promoted to chairperson of the American Poetry Review, AGNI, and Department of English and Lan- The Offing. She and alum Samuel guages starting in the fall. Amadon are working on the third issue of their poetry journal Farnoosh Fathi Oversound. (Ph.D., 2011) founded the The paperback edition of Young Art- Tracy Daugherty’s (Ph.D., ists Language 1985) biography of Joan & Devotion Didion, The Last Love Song, Alliance—YAL- will be published by Picador DA—to sup- in October. In hardcover, the port the work of book made the Bestseller lists in the young women writers ages 12-19. New York Times and the Los Angeles Farnoosh mentors young writers Times. Texas Review Press recently individually to develop their work published his book of Texas-themed year-round, and this past June, novellas and stories, American Orig- YALDA held its first NYC-based inals. In Spring 2017, the University summer literary intensive for its in- of Georgia Press will publish, as part augural cohort of four young wom- of its new Crux Series in Innovative en authors. Ugly Duckling Presse Nonfiction, a book of Tracy’s liter- and Poets House are partnering ary essays, Let Us Build Us a City. with YALDA to publish and launch their chapbooks. At UDP, YALDA Robin Davidson (Ph.D., 2001) was authors will learn to print and bind promoted to full professor in the their own letterpresses chapbooks, Department of English at University and Poets House will host YALDA’s of Houston Downtown (Fall 2015), writing and performance work- and was appointed Houston Poet shops, a seminar for publishing as Laureate (2015 – 2017) by Mayor young woman authors, as well as Annise Parker. the YALDA chapbook launch reading. To learn more about YALDA, Viet Dinh’s (MFA, 2003) debut nov- please visit www.yalda-web.com. el, After Disasters, will be published You can help support YALDA at in September by Little A Books. www.gofundme.com/yalda_authors He also has a story forthcoming in and http://www.uglyducklingpresse. Ploughshares. org/yalda/.

Barbara Duffey’s (MFA, 2005) Aja Gabel (Ph.D., 2015) recently second collection of poems, Simple sold her first novel,In Common Machines, won the 2015 Washington Time, to Riverhead/Penguin Prize from The Word Works. She Random House. was a 2015 NEA Literature Fellow

20 Jessica Greenbaum (MA, 1981) Houston Grand Opera/HGOco was was the recipient of a 2015 performed across Houston venues, NEA award, and a 2016 Alice courthouses, and middle and high Fay di Castagnola Award from schools during the months of April the Poetry Society of America. and May. This past year, she served She received a grant from Poets as co-Vice President of the Writers & Writers to continue a poet- at Work Executive Board and was ry reading and writing workshop awarded an RSPG/Hemingway with 9/11 first responders through Vitality grant to attend the Home the WTC Health Program, and will School Conference in Miami. She re- again be teaching at Barnard College cently accepted a Howard Nemerov in the spring. Scholarship to attend the Sewanee Writers’ Conference in July. J. Bradford Hipps’s (MFA, 2007) first novel,The Adventurist, was Irene Keliher (MFA, 2009) had published in April by St. Martin’s. In essays come out in The Millions, a praiseful New York Times review, The Weeklings, Literary Mama, and Dwight Garner described the book Narrative Magazine over the past as “bright and large-souled…a brisk year. The Narrative essay is about and polished and somehow very writing her first libretto for the American novel.” Houston Opera. She recently accepted a position as a Content Strategist Layla Benitez-James (MFA, 2014) for Rover.com, and offers fiction and has been living in Spain since Oc- nonfiction classes at Seattle’s Hugo tober of 2014, where she continues House to get an occasional teaching to work on projects, and has had fix. Meanwhile, she’s raising two several poems translated into kids and working on a novel. Spanish. She is currently at work on the translation of the novel Peter Kimani’s (Ph.D., 2014) new Hombre en azul (Man in Blue) novel, Dance of the Jakaranda, will by the Spanish poet Óscar be published by Akashic Books in Curieses. She has recently February 2017. published work in Revisita Kokomo and La Galla Cien- Sophie Klahr’s (MFA, 2013) first cia Numero IV. full-length collection, Meet Me Here At Dawn, is forthcoming from YesY- es Books (2016). Poetry/$15.95 DRIVING WITHOUT A LICENSE “These poems create a disquieting narrative of American immigration, one in which an undocumented young woman from the Philippines hides in plain sight among the pizza places and schoolyards of Southern California, surrounded by opportunity, risk and threat. Joseph’s sensibility is as psychological as it is political, reminding us that concealment is more than a physical act; it is also a profoundly disruptive emotional and psychological position, one that informs Janine Joseph (Ph.D., 2013) accept- Andrew Kozma’s (Ph.D., 2007) not just the speaker’s sense of the world, but her sense of her self. Brilliantly crafted and intimate, Driving without a License complicates the narrative of American immigration, creating from it a poetry of beauty and empathy.” —Kevin Prufer ed a position as Assistant Professor poem “Ode to a Common House-

“Janine Joseph writes with an open and easy intimacy. The language here is at once disruptive and familiar, political and sensual, and tinged by the melancholy of Creative Writing at Oklahoma fly” was chosen by Sherman Alexie of loss and the discomforting radiance of redemption. A strong debut.” —Chris Abani State University. Her debut poetry to appear in Best American Poetry “We’ve never read a book like Janine Joseph’s Driving without a License. By ‘we’ I mean all of us. With its ferocious formal range and deep compassion Joseph shows us the world we all live in but often choose to ignore. Here are the lives of mothers and fathers, teenagers and grandparents, all living under the threat of deportation. Here are people making a new home while holding collection, Driving Without a Li- 2015. onto the dignity and beauty of the place that they were once from. Joseph is that rare poet who makes a poem that devastates a reader while being entirely free from judgment. These are political poems because simply being alive in the United States is a political act. These are narrative poems because cense, which was profiled in the everyone has a story. At the heart of each poem is the lyric, that moment in which there is no separation between ourselves and the world Joseph JANINE JOSEPH lets bloom. This makes us citizens of these poems, which is a testament to Joseph’s staggering grace.” Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Laura Lark’s (MA, 1989) third solo —Gabrielle Calvocoressi

Raised in the Philippines and California, Janine Joseph holds Times, was released by Alice James exhibition at Devin Borden Gallery, an MFA from New York University and a Ph.D. from the University of Houston. Her poems and essays have appeared

Jaclyn Heward in Kenyon Review Online, Best New Poets, Best American Experimental Writing, Zócalo Public Square, the Academy of Books in May 2016. Her third com- Houston, “The Misuses of Enchant- American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, and elsewhere. Her libretti for the Houston Grand Opera/HGOco include What Wings They Were: The Case of Emeline, “On This Muddy Water”: Voices from the Houston Ship Channel, and From My Mother’s Mother. Visit www.janinejoseph.com for more information. missioned libretto, What Wings They ment” opened in the fall of 2015 and www.alicejamesbooks.org www.alicejamesbooks.org

Alice James Books Farmington, Maine Were: The Case of Emeline, for the ran through January 2016. A 6’x5.5 www.alicejamesbooks.orgwww.alicejamesbooks.org Winner of the 2014 Kundiman Poetry Prize www.alicejamesbooks.org 21 foot drawing on Tyvek, “Janice”, Mountain Arts Colony and won the 2005 was acquired by Hobby Airport, this past year had essays Washington Houston, in January, 2016. Two included in Difficult Dia- Prize from chapters from the handwritten logues about Twenty-First Word Works and illustrated series “Dear John- Century Girls and Staging in Washington, ny Depp” were featured in issue Women’s Lives: Gendered D.C. These number 5 of No Tokens literary Life Stages in Language books em- journal in April of 2016. and Literature Workplac- ploy the lives, es, both published by personae, and art Lance Larsen (Ph.D., 1993) has SUNY Press. At AWP theories of jazz recently had essays in Southern she moderated a panel artists like Duke Review, Southwest Review, River about teaching creative Ellington, John Styx, and Brief Encounters, a writing to teenage girls. She Coltrane, Horace Norton anthology featuring is a Research Silver, Ornette Coleman, contemporary short nonfiction, Scholar with Woody Shaw, et. al. as co-con- and his poems are forthcom- UCLA’s spirators in the battle for global ing in Ploughshares, Bombay Center for justice and tolerance. Gin, American Poetry Review, the Study of and Crazyhorse. He currently Women and David Stuart MacLean’s serves as the MFA coordinator teaches poetry (Ph.D., 2009) essay “Golden at BYU and as the Utah poet workshops Friendship Club” was published laureate. He and his wife, for Writing by The Bennington Review in Jacqui, are collaborating on a Workshops their inaugural issue. He cur- soon-to-open art show titled Los Angeles. rently teaches creative writing in Three-Mile Radius, which is 93% Chicago, where he lives with his Jacqui, 7% Lance. His teenage Laura Long (Ph.D., 2000) wife, Emily, and their two kids. daughter, Tessa, is quite sure she co-edited Eyes Burn- wants to be a chemist. ing at the Edge of the James Davis May Woods: Fiction and (MFA, 2007) won Leah Lax’s (MFA, 2004) mem- Poetry from West Vir- the Poetry Society oir, Uncovered (August 2015), ginia, an anthology of of America’s Cecil has been a finalist for three over 60 contemporary Hemley Memori- different literary prizes and is writers, which will be al Award, and his currently a finalist for a Chau- published Spring 2017 first book, Unquiet tauqua Prize. Right now, she is by Vandalia/West Vir- Things, was pub- immersed in writing a libretto/ ginia University Press. lished by Louisiana production design based on her State University memoir for American composer Richard Lyons’s Press. Lori Laitman, who is already (Ph.D., 1991) composing the music. Uncov- fourth book Karyna Mc- ered, the opera is also a finalist— of poems Un Glynn’s (Ph.D., 2015) for the 2016 Pellicciotti Prize for Poco Loco was third chapbook, The 9-Day new initiatives in opera. published by Queen Gets Lost on her Iris Books in Way to the Execution, was Elline Lipkin (Ph.D., 2003) Oak Ridge, TN. recently published by s was recently named Poet This book is a Willow Springs Books. Laureate of Altadena for 2016- companion to his Her second full-length 2018. Elline has also received last book, Fleur book, Hothouse, will a fellowship from the Dorland Carnivore, which be out from Sarabande

22 Books in April 2017. Also, start- Wanderings (Little, Brown), won (Warpaint, Liars, Kanye West). ing this fall, she’ll be a Visiting the American Society of Journal- Her longtime bandmate Lucas Assistant Professor of Poetry and ists and Authors 2016 Award for Gorham (Grandfather Child), Translation at Oberlin College. Memoir/Autobiography, and was is featured on the record, along a finalist for the PEN with drummer Matt Chamberlain Ann Mc- Southwest Nonfiction (Soundgarden, Tori Amos). Whit- Cutchan’s Award. ney is currently working on her (Fall, 1998) second album, “True Voodoo,” fifth book, Wayne Miller’s with the same producer, as well Where’s the (MFA, 2002) fourth as a music video and correspond- Moon? A poetry collection, ing graphic novel by the same Memoir of the Post-, was published name, which will be released late Space Coast by Milkweed Edi- 2016. Her music is available on and the Flori- tions, as was the iTunes, Bandcamp, and Spotify. da Dream will essay collection be published Literary Publishing Oindrila Mukherjee (Ph.D., in October in the Twenty-First 2009) is an assistant professor by Texas A & Cen- in the department of Writing at M Universi- tury, Grand Valley State University. ty Press. She which he Last year, she began contribut- also recently co-editing a literary column along with signed a contract with ed with other features for the Indian W.W. Norton for The Life Travis magazine Scroll. In the US her She Wished to Live -- A Kurowski short stories appeared in Silk Biography of Marjo- and Kevin Road Review, Arts & Letters, and rie Kinnan Rawlings, Prufer. His Philadelphia Stories, where her Author of ‘The Year- translation story “Cul de Sac” won second ling.’ This past year of Moikom place in the Marguerite McGlinn she retired from the Zeqo’s Zodiac Prize for Fiction. She also pub- University of North was published lished work in EssayDaily and by Zephyr Press The Writer’s Chronicle Online in December, Exclusives. She was a finalist 2015. Since he for the Rona Jaffe Foundation and UH alums Brian Barker and award in 2015. As coordinator of Nicky Beer relaunched the jour- the Grand Valley Writers Series, nal Copper Nickel, work from its she has been able to invite some pages has been reprinted in Best accomplished UH CWP alumni American Poetry, Best American to her campus. Short Stories, and the Pushcart Prize Anthology. Kerry Neville’s (Ph.D., 2000) second short fiction collection, Shortly after graduating from the Remember to Forget Me, will be CWP, Whitney Mower (MFA, published by Braddock Avenue 2014) was offered a record deal Books in Summer/Fall 2017. through a small label based out Texas to write full-time. of Austin, which led her to Los David Parsons’s (MA, 1991) Angeles where she made her first co-edited with Wendy Barker, Kimberly Meyer’s (Ph.D., studio EP as “Iva Dawn,” with Far Out: Poems of the 60’s. An 2008) first book, The Book of the help of producer Tom Biller AWP panel for the book featured

23 poets Patricia Smith, Alicia Ostriker, November, 2015 (Viola Louise Tim Seibles,Wendy Barker and Da- Shaw). Kent also accepted a position vid. David continues to teach Cre- at Wheaton College in Massachu- ative Writing at LSC-Montgomery setts. and co-direct the Writers in Perfor- Glenn Shaheen’s mance Series, in (MFA, 2008) newest its 25th year, with collection of poetry, good friend and fel- Energy Corridor, low UH Alum, Cliff was published by Hudder. the University of Pittsburgh Nancy Pearson’s Press in (MFA, 2015) sec- March. ond collection of poems The Whole J.D. Smith’s By Contemplation (MA, 1989) of a Single Bone fourth full- was published by length collec- Fordham Press in early spring 2016, tion of poetry, The Killing and was named winner of The Poets Tree, was published by Out Loud Prize. Finishing Line Press.

Emily Perez’s (MFA, 2006) first Analicia Sotelo’s (MFA, full-length poetry collection, House 2012) poems were recently of Sugar, House of Stone, which ex- published in The New Yorker, plores the anxieties of childhood and Meridian, and The Collagist, parenthood through the lens of fairy- and she was the 2016 Disquiet tales, was published in March by International Literary Prize Winner The Center for Literary Publishing. in Poetry. She was awarded a CantoMundo fellowship for 2016, and this sum- Marilyn Stablein’s (MA, 1984) mer she’ll work with a community work was featured in the Vancou- of Latino/a poets at the University of ver (BC) Sun and the Hollywood Texas. Star News. She taught workshops in Memoir (“Living and Recording Dan Rifenburgh, a Vietnam Era the Creative Life”), an “Intro- Army veteran, has been teaching duction to Artist Books” writing workshops for veterans at and read from her work in the DeBakey VA Hospital as part of Vashon Island (WA), Mil- the Houston Grand Opera’s com- waukee and Portland, OR. munity outreach program. His latest She published two essay book, Isthmus, was published by reviews, “Loba Revisited” Houston’s Mutabilis Press. He gave on Diane di Prima and “My a reading from the work at The Jung Dinner with Paul Reps” (in the Center in Houston. Kyoto Journal). Poems and/or art were also featured in Raven Kent Shaw (Ph.D., 2011) and his Chronicles, Windfall, Otoliths, wife welcomed their first child in the Cascadia Anthology (Canada)

24 and a Portland Marijuana Antholo- TEDx El Paso in summer of 2015 gy. Her artist book “Inflamed” was about race/racism https://youtu.be/ featured on the cover of Bound & huO_PSbO2L8. Lettered Magazine, which reviewed her recent monograph Bind, Al- Jennifer Tseng’s (MFA, 2002) ter, Fold: Artist Books (Book Arts debut novel Mayumi and the Sea Editions). of Happiness (Europa Editions Gail (Donohue) Storey (MA, 1982; 2015) was shortlisted for the CWP Administrative Director, 1982- PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize 1986) and her memoir, I Promise for Debut Fiction. Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail (winner of Jessica Wilbanks’s (MFA, the National Outdoor Book Award 2011) memoir, On the Far and others) were featured in the The Side of the Fire, will be Costco Connection (January 2016), published by Beacon Press in a piece titled “Epic Storey.” in late 2017. The book draws on her experiences grow- Russel Swensen’s (Ph.D., 2011) ing up Pentecostal, her departure book The Magic Kingdom was re- from the church as a teenager, the cently released by Black Lawrence messy birth of the faith in places Press. such as Kansas City, Houston, and Los Angeles, and its subsequent Giuseppe Taurino’s (MFA, 2006) growth to all corners of the globe. stories have recently appeared in Bridge Eight and Green Mountains Tiphanie Yanique’s (MFA, Review. He continues to serve as 2006) poetry collection, Wife, was Assistant Director of the UH CWP, published in November and has and as a contributing editor for won the Bocas Prize in Caribbean American Short Fiction. Poetry. It is also a finalist for the Forward Prize for best first col- Robert Tinajero (Ph. D., 2004), lection. She recently accepted an was named a 2016 Emerging Associate Professor position in Scholar by Diverse News in Edu- creative writing at Wes- cation http://diverseeducation.com/ leyan University, and this article/80934/. He was also named past March, she and her Co-Director of Race Relations husband welcomed their Institute at Paul Quinn College in third child. Dallas,TX and delivered talk at

25 The University of Houston offers a graduate creative writing program that fosters the growth of the individual writer as a person of letters in a vibrant community of scholars and writers. CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM MFA OR PH.D. IN FICTION OR POETRY

FALL 2017 APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 2, 2017

Teaching Assistantships & Fellowships Available Visit www.uh.edu/cwp for more information

FACULTY RECENT STUDENT AWARDS J. Kastley, Director Antonya Nelson Fulbright Scholarship Robert Boswell Alexander Parsons Iowa Poetry Prize Audrey Colombe Kevin Prufer Wallace Stegner Fellowship Chitra Divakaruni Martha Serpas National Endownment for the Arts Grant Nick Flynn Roberto Tejada Dorthy Sargent Rosenberg Memorial Poetry Competition Tony Hoagland Peter Turchi Ruth Lilly Poetry Fellowship Mat Johnson Tobias Wolff Award for Fiction Middlebrook Poetry Fellowship

2016-2017 Jonathan Safran Foer Rabih Alameddine Ann Patchett Colm Tóibín MARGARETT ROOT BROWN Juan Gabriel Vásquez Lauren Groff READING SERIES Gregory Pardlo Annie Proulx Ada Limón George Saunders

The University of Houston is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution

26 Thank to the Writers and Graphic Designers in the Ecopoetics for providing the graphics in the newsletter this year

“Apiary” Nathan Stabenfeldt (MFA Poetry, 2017), Jose “The Meeting of the Waters” Melanie Brkich (MFA Poetry, Diaz (BFA Graphic Design, 2016), Enrique Garza (BFA 2017), Candice Cantu (BFA Graphic Design, 2016), Daniel Graphic Design, 2016), and Paulina Papke (BFA Graph- Cardoza (BFA Graphic Design, 2016), and Matt Hughes (BFA ic Design, 2016) Graphic Design, 2016)

Poem Dana Kroos Design Roxana Dominguez & Tracy Ngo “Bloodless” Martin Rock (Ph.D Poetry, 2017), Helen “The Burgeo Gut” Dana Kroos (Ph.D. Fiction, 2017), Rox- Nerio (BFA Graphic Design, 2016), Rafia Jessa (BFA ana Dominguez (BFA Graphic Design, 2016), and Tracy Ngo Graphic Design, 2016), and Vanessa Ros (BFA Graphic (BFA Graphic Design, 2016) Design, 2016)

In my passenger seat she crosses her legs & pulls down the sunvisor.

Near midnight, & the perseids send slow artillery across our sky.

We’ve got a full tank, driving past the derricks & pump jacks,

& the sucker rods bob in the fields like bored horses. My uncle died

in that refinery, she says, chemical spill. No body left

to bury. Cousins got a settlement, she says, and confines her gaze

to the car, to the lit visor mirror and her own lips, which she daubs

a cimarron red, her center fingertip bright and greased.

Poet: Georgia Pearle | Designers: Aggie Forouhideh, Jesus Palacios, Thi Tran “Refinery” Georgia Pearle (Ph.D. Poetry, 2017), Aggie Forouhideh (BFA Graphic Design, 2016), Jesus Pala- cious (BFA Graphic Design, 2016), and Thi Tran (BFA “En Gulf” Raafia Jessa (BFA Graphic Design, 2016) Graphic Design, 2016) 27 The University of Houston Creative Writing Program www.uh.edu/cwp © 2016